Tony Bergstrom is one of the "good players who have a strong foundation in their faith" that Reggie McKenzie values.

Tony Bergstrom is one of the "good players who have a strong foundation in their faith" that Reggie McKenzie values.

Photo: Paul Sakuma, Associated Press

Raiders: Draftees good people who fit well together, know a pick-and-roll from a pick-6

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No, Reggie McKenzie said after the 2012 NFL draft was finally over, he didn't have boxes to check on his scouting report for how good the players' jump shots were. Or how much they believed in God.

It only seemed that way.

The Raiders' general manager, in the first draft after Al Davis, brought in a class of six players - five of them former basketball players - that is going to be hard to grade for a while. Oakland didn't have a pick until the third round, and most of the players picked are closer to the developmental end of the spectrum than to the impactful.

Besides a good first step to the hoop, they almost all have a strong religious faith.

"I think when you talk about high-character guys, how they were brought up, work ethic, I think part of that is kind of reflective on your faith," McKenzie said. "At least I know it was with me.

"But did we go out and say we're going to get faith-based players specifically? No. No. That's not our intent. ... But I think just by nature, good-quality players have a strong foundation in their faith."

McKenzie wants good-quality players and good-quality people.

He said before the draft he would shy away from high-risk, high-reward players and sure enough, he didn't crack under pressure. The Raiders could use a cornerback and Nebraska's Alfonzo Dennard, a physical corner with tons of upside, fell from the second to the seventh because he allegedly punched a cop in the face last week. McKenzie wasn't even tempted.

How players fit together, on the field and off, will be a bigger part of McKenzie's team-building than bringing in the best players available, talent-wise.

As will their ability to crash the boards, apparently.

Fifth-round pick Jack Crawford, a defensive end, and sixth-round pick Christo Bilukidi, a defensive tackle, are former basketball players who started playing football late.

"We're close to having a starting five," Raiders head coach Dennis Allen said, laughing.

Actually, they already have one.

Third-round pick (guard) Tony Bergstrom, fifth-rounder (receiver) Juron Criner and seventh-rounder (linebacker) Nate Stupar also were pretty good at basketball in high school. And last month, McKenzie signed free agent Andre Hardy, a tight-end prospect who played basketball at Cal State Fullerton, but not football.

"It helps when you talk about how athletic especially big men are," McKenzie said. "Do we go in and look for guys who played basketball? No. But when we research and get down into the scouting part of it, yes. That's part of the process.

"It's just like when we look at defensive backs - if they play center field and outfield, learning how to track balls, that's part of scouting. But for a specific sport? We don't go out looking for basketball players, defensive linemen who can play basketball. That doesn't give them a boost up in a round, no."

McKenzie admits the defensive linemen could be considered projects.

"Yeah, with all these guys, to a certain degree, they're going to have to be brought along," McKenzie said. "But yes, the D-linemen, they did get into football late. But they are very good prospects so even though they're a little raw, we feel like we can coach those guys up and they will eventually be pretty good players."

Bergstrom and outside linebacker Miles Burris, the team's fourth-round pick, would seem like the two players who could make a push for some serious playing time. Burris would set up on the line of scrimmage at San Diego State and attack, and will have to work on his pass-coverage, but he has the explosive twitch that coaches want in defensive players.

"I think he's a tough, physical player that's got good athletic skill, has instincts for the game, plays the game the right way," Allen said. "And that's really at the end of the day, when we looked at it, we said, 'Hey, we've got a quality football player that's got a chance to come in and compete for a position on this team,' and we wanted to try to bring him in here."

Commitment to schools

The Raiders announced that they will donate 10 percent of the price of new season tickets purchased from May 1 to June 30 to the Oakland schools.

"We are thrilled to announce our newest youth- and community-based initiative and we are delighted to assist the Oakland Unified School District," Raiders chief executive Amy Trask said.

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